COLUMN: A November to remember

Friday

Nov 2, 2012 at 9:26 AMNov 2, 2012 at 9:28 AM

Welcome to November. Sweeps month for college football. Stepping it up time for true contenders in the NFL. Time to reflect.

Lee Goodwin

Welcome to November.Sweeps month for college football. Stepping it up time for true contenders in the NFL.Time to reflect.— Boy, this would be a good year for the four-team playoff in college football, which is still two years away.Alabama, Kansas State, Notre Dame and Oregon are all undefeated and could very well end up that way. If that’s the case, a combination of human voting and computer input will once again decide who will play for the mythical national championship trophy.Don’t be surprised if the final selection leaves you scratching your head.Also, I’m curious to see what happens in the BCS standings if — and it’s a big if — fifth-ranked LSU somehow comes away with a win Saturday night at home against top-rated and heavily-favored Alabama. Will LSU leapfrog an undefeated team? Or will the three undefeated teams move up a spot, assuming all of them win Saturday?I’ve said before that the most entertaining bowl games are the ones played before Jan. 1. I still believe that. By the time the season gets to the final game, I’m not sure the interest level is even that strong unless someone has a vested interest in the BCS Championship game. Not to mention that no matter who wins it all, the outcome is an arbitrary one and not the result of an objective playoff system whereby teams qualify based on the regular season and face off in a tournament like the other divisions do.— Maybe it was a fluke, but NFL Europe was a bust. Now, all the attention and hype about more games in London leaves me wondering: Is American football really that popular abroad or is it overblown? Could there be a London Monarchs NFL franchise in the future? Just because there were 80,000 bodies in the seats at Wembley Stadium doesn’t mean professional football is on the verge of replacing Premier League.The Jacksonville Jaguars agreed recently to a four-year deal to play in London beginning in 2013. In a move to increase the franchise’s “brand,” the hapless Jags are hoping to cash in on international exposure. Well, it isn’t going to sell out the home stadium, where more people are lounging on the beach on Sunday afternoons than occupying seats watching Jacksonville play a losing “brand” of football.The Jaguars are 1-6 and appear headed toward what could easily be a 1-15 finish, making them one of the last teams anyone would want to watch no matter where the game is played.Then again, maybe that’s why they’re playing in London.— It’s the 40th anniversary of the Miami Dolphins’ undefeated season. The only team with a chance to match it is the Atlanta Falcons, who enter this week with a 7-0 record.Former Miami players have probably already purchased champagne and are ready to break open the bubbly and celebrate another year without an undefeated team. They had to wait until the outcome of the Super Bowl following the 2007 season to toast the end of New England’s undefeated season.Here’s the remainder of Atlanta’s schedule: Dallas, at New Orleans, Arizona, at Tampa Bay, New Orleans, at Carolina, New York Giants, at Detroit, Tampa Bay.It’s up to you, Atlanta.But, I’m confused as to why going undefeated is such a Holy Grail in professional football. Then again, maybe it isn’t. Still, I don’t think the New York Giants really cared they lost seven games last season. All they did was win a Super Bowl. And, in 2007, the Giants finished 10-6 and won out, including a 17-14 upset victory against the Patriots in the Super Bowl.— It’s Nov. 2 and still no NHL. Have you noticed yet? Maybe it’ll start sinking in when January rolls around, but, there’s too much going on right now to ponder life without professional hockey.— Hats off to the Shippensburg University football team, which is 7-0 and coming off a huge win over NCAA Division II fourth-ranked Bloomsburg.The seventh-ranked Red Raiders (9-0, 6-0 PSAC East) will honor 14 senior players when they host Cheyney on Saturday. Shippensburg concludes the regular season at No. 16 Indiana (Pa.) on Nov. 10.SU is the top-ranked team in the Super Region One rankings.Second-year head coach Mark Maciejewski has made the transition from longtime coach Rocky Rees a seamless one. Coach “Mac” is 16-4 in his short tenure at Shippensburg.Former Waynesboro Area Senior High School players Brandon Robinson (Class of 2009) and Matt Wade (Class of 2012) are members of the Red Raiders.

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